Before traveling to China, Kūkai planted eight roasted chestnuts here to divine if his journey would succeed. When he returned, all eight had sprouted and grown, so the temple's name changed from 'Eight Countries' to 'Eight Chestnuts.'

Mount Goken once had five distinct peaks, but one collapsed during an earthquake in the Edo period. The mountain's name comes from a legend that five swords fell from heaven when Kūkai trained here, which he buried for protection.